The Māori people are the Indigenous Polynesian inhabitants of Aotearoa (New Zealand), having arrived in waves of canoe voyages from eastern Polynesia around the 13th century. They brought rich oral traditions, intricate carving and weaving arts, and a deep spiritual connection to the land and sea. The Māori are renowned for their warrior culture, exemplified by the powerful haka—a ceremonial dance performed to convey challenge, unity, or celebration. Today, they play a vital role in New Zealand's cultural identity, actively preserving their language (Te Reo Māori), customs (Tikanga), and unique worldview while contributing to all aspects of modern Kiwi society.

The game Ki-o-Rahi is believed to have been played by the Māori people long before European contact with New Zealand, possibly for several centuries. The exact origins and the precise date it was first played are unclear since Māori history was traditionally passed down orally rather than written. Depending on the rule set, this game is like a combination of rugby or flag football and handball featuring classic invasion game tactics. The game was traditionally used not just for recreation but also for training, storytelling, and strengthening community bonds. Though its popularity waned in the 20th century, it has seen a modern revival as part of efforts to preserve and celebrate Māori culture. Helpful to the preservation of the sport were the French soldiers from WWII, who learned the game from Māori soldiers of the 28th Māori battalion. Many years later, in 2006, France and New Zealand played the first international Ki-O-Rahi match. Now, it is common to see the game being played in school for PE or during various festivals.

This game has significant connections to Māori mythology. The playing area acts as a diagram symbolizing the different realms of existence or parts of the story of Rahi. The different actions that each team is trying to do for their win condition are also symbolic of the (re)birth/death cycle. The game is linked to the heroic legend of Rahi. Rahi was on a quest to find his wife, who was kidnapped by the Patupaiarehe (fairies), so he brought a ki (basket) with eggs for sustenance and a giant kite to search for her. Along the trip, he dropped some eggs, and some landed on a Hokioki bird (giant eagle) named Namu. During the flight, the Patupaiarehe cast a spell that created two suns to burn the kite, which made Rahi fall to the ground and almost die. He landed next to a stone (Te Tupu) with a Wairua spirit (the area surrounding Tupu) inside, and it helped Rahi recover. The Patupaiarehe sent a reptile Taniwha creature to kill Rahi. Namu saw this and flew to Rahi to protect him. One interpretation of the explanation of the Te Roto Zone is that it was created by the Taniwha frantically circling Rahi, trying to find a way through Namu's protection.

The actions of the Taniwha and Kioma players symbolize this attack and defense of Rahi. Seeing his son was in danger, Eru, the father of Rahi, created Te Ara, or a pathway, to allow Rahi to escape when the Taniwha trapped him. Rahi saw a constellation of seven stars of Matariki (seven Pou), which led him to Te Ara. Once he was safe, upon seeing his father, he reached enlightenment (Te Mārama). Rahi traps the Patupaiarehe in a volcano and blocks the entrance so it will explode. Afterward, the people from the two tribes of Rahi and Patupaiarehe came to negotiate, symbolizing how the two teams must agree on the ruleset used to play Ki-O-Rahi since there are so many versions.

The playing area has several zones, essentially concentric circles, with a central target in the center. The middle target is called Te Tupu, which translates to “The Growth,” specifically the origin or source of growth. This is the main target of the attacking team, which represents the death/destruction part of the cycle and is guarded by defenders, who are seen as spiritual guardians focused on preservation. Each part of the playing area is symbolic of the story of Rahi and a metaphor for the Māori creation story.

Te Tupu encapsulates the entire arc of the Māori Cosmic origin story, from Te Kore (the potential), Te Pō (the darkness), Te Ao Mārama (light and form), to Te Tupu (the growth). Initially, Ranginui (Sky) and Papatūānuku (Earth) were locked in a deep embrace, creating a dark space where their children, the Atua, were trapped. They longed for light and space in their cramped silence. The Atua debated whether they would be better off destroying their parents than remaining trapped, but Tāne Mahuta, the god of the forests and birds, convinced them that he could separate them. He laid on his back, placed his legs against his mother, and pushed with all his might. With a mighty heave, he forced Ranginui upwards into the sky and left Papatūānuku below, weeping in sorrow. The space between them became Te Ao Mārama — the world of light, or the world we now live in.

This creation story addresses the dilemma of parenting. There must be a balance between protection and freedom when raising children. Too much protection limits growth, and in the story, the parents had to be literally separated to achieve room to flourish. It is also a painful reminder that for love to evolve, it may come with sacrifice, for there is profound sadness because the Sky and Earth were separated. The story acknowledges the pain often accompanying children's and parents' growth.

This origin story also comes to the heart of Polynesian Wayfinding Culture. One must leave one's familiarity and explore new places to grow, even if there is danger on the voyage. The space created with the separation of the gods is symbolic of the space that the Polynesian people explored as they voyaged the seas. When the gods were separated, it birthed creation and became the source of movement and purpose, which, for the Polynesian culture, was the purpose of life: discovery through wayfinding.

Surrounding Te Tupu is a small zone called Te Wairua, which was the spirit that healed Rahi, but in a cosmological sense, it represents spiritual transition. The next zone surrounding Te Wairua is Te Pāwero, which in Ki-O-Rahi translates to the “contested zone” or the “zone of engagement.” If we take the literal meanings, “Pā” means the fortified village, and “Wero” is a challenge or test. This area can be considered the realm of conflict between creation and destruction forces. It could also be considered a space of transition because it is neither Te Ao nor Te Tupu, but instead, a place where choices are made, outcomes are shaped, and prayer and ritual are most needed.

The zone separating the Pāwero from Te Ao is Te Roto, which translates to “The Lake.” This serves as a boundary that players cannot go through unless under certain circumstances, almost like a moat protecting the castle. Te Roto symbolizes the water surrounding the island of Te Tupu (the source of creation), making this water almost like an amniotic fluid. Te Roto is a sacred space that only the worthy can enter using Te Ara (the pathway). Te Ara is the pathway(s) to Te Tupu through Te Roto.

Besides symbolizing the creation myths of the Māori, Ki-O-Rahi can also symbolize the journey the Wairua (spirit) must take to the underworld to return to Te Pō, the great darkness, which in the game is Te Tupu. The concentric circles of the playing area represent the different planes or realms of existence that the Wairua traverse to return to Te Pō, the origin of everything. The Wairua spirit can't return unless they use Te Ara, the “right path” or ritual journey. This is not easy because players are trying to prevent this, and they represent spiritual guardians and trials that challenge the purity and readiness of the Wairua to determine if they are worthy to return to Te Pō. If the game were told as a story of the journey of the Wairua, it would be released from Te Ao (the world of light) and must circle back toward Te Tupu, the source of existence, a gateway to Te Pō. Along the way, it must honor the markers (Pou, more on this later), use the correct path (Te Ara), and survive the guardians who test its intent and readiness.

Speaking of the Pou, they reside within Te Ao, the outer zone of the playing area. Te Ao is the sky, which is associated with the world of light (contrasting Te Pō), where the sun, stars, and other celestial bodies and beings reside. Māori navigators, known as tāhāuna, used the stars and the sky to guide their canoes on long oceanic voyages. The constellations, the sun's position, and the stars' patterns allowed them to navigate the vast Pacific Ocean with remarkable precision. This practice links the sky realm directly to the Māori people's survival and connection to their environment. The Māori navigation system is known as star lines and involves using the night sky to determine direction. Stars were used as landmarks, and the sky was seen as an atlas of the sea, with each star marking a specific point or direction that guided navigators on their travels.

The Pou are stars tapped to gain scoring potential, symbolizing power and wisdom along one's life journey and honoring the ancestors. Many Māori rituals involve actions that symbolize respect, acknowledgment, or the transfer of spiritual energy, such as the act of tapping or touching sacred objects during ceremonies. The Pou as stars is also a nod to the wayfaring tradition that relied on stars and celestial bodies to navigate their voyages. Following a path to tap Pous to gain scoring potential is a simultaneous symbolization of the journey of a Wairua from Te Ara to Te Pō in a spiritual sense and in a literal physical sense, using the correct route to sail across Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (Pacific Ocean).

To start the game, the ki is kicked into play from Te Mārama (the moon, place of enlightenment), which is located in or sometimes outside Te Ao. The kick is usually to the center, where a goalie (representing a protective spirit) can safely catch it and distribute the ball. This kicking action may be linked to Te Rerenga Wairua, the leaping place for spirits. Te Rerenga Wairua is the northernmost point of Aotearoa at Cape Reinga, where the spirits of the dead leap off the land and descend into the underworld via the roots of a pōhutukawa tree into Te Pō. It is one of the most sacred sites in Māori cosmology because it marks the beginning of the spirit's journey home to Hawaiki, the spiritual homeland. In this metaphor, the ki is a Wairua spirit beginning its spiritual journey, and Te Mārama is Te Rerenga Wairua. The opening sequence encourages players to treat the opening kick with ritual awareness, like a Karakia (blessing).

The two teams in Ki-o-Rahi have very different goals and win conditions, reflecting the balance between opposing forces in Māori cosmology, such as light versus darkness, life versus death, or order versus chaos. This symbolic differentiation speaks to the Māori view of the world as a space of continuous interaction between complementary forces. Neither is good nor bad, but it is all part of a continuous cycle perpetuated by the interaction of creation and destruction.

The defending team’s primary task is to protect Te Tupu. In Māori belief, defending what is sacred, like Te Tupu, is an act of preserving the balance of the world, maintaining harmony, and upholding ancestral values. This also reinforces the Māori ethos that part of humans' purpose is to protect the environment and nature. The defending team represents the forces of stability, order, and protection. This team’s role also mirrors the guardianship of ancestral wisdom and spiritual guidance, where they prevent spiritual chaos (represented by the attacking team) from disrupting the sacred center.

The attacking team’s goal is to "capture" or "destroy" Te Tupu, which can be seen as symbolizing a challenge to the established order, a descent into the darkness, or a confrontation with spiritual forces. This team represents the forces of change, chaos, or transition. Their goal is to challenge the existing structure and create a new balance. In Māori cosmology, death or transition to the underworld (Te Pō) is not viewed negatively but as part of a necessary cycle. In Ki-o-Rahi, the attacking team's role could symbolize the forces that bring about change, rebirth, and transformation, which are integral to the natural world.

For all the metaphysical connection the game has to Māori mythology and spirituality, it also served in a practical sense for training people for combat. Like any good team sport, there are elements of strategy, teamwork, and agility, which mirror skills and tactics used in traditional Māori warfare. The game requires players to be strategic about their positioning, movement, and collaboration, like in battle. The game is played in a circular field, which could symbolize the defensive nature of the Māori Pā (fortified village) and the constant movement in combat. The same qualities warriors needed for battle were also needed in the Whānau (family), Hapū (sub-tribe), and Iwi (tribe) to work together to achieve a common goal where cooperation and unity are crucial.

Just as Māori games like Ki-o-Rahi were used to pass down stories, values, and teachings, the game serves as a means of education. By playing the game, younger generations learn physical skills and the cultural and spiritual significance of the Māori worldview. This is a key aspect of the Māori concept of whakapapa (genealogy), where knowledge and traditions are passed from one generation to the next. Like different tribes of Māori, there are different versions of how to play Ki-O-Rahi. Wherever the game is played has its own unique “house rules,” which is not a flaw but a feature because it reflects the values of whakapapa (lineage), whanaungatanga (relationship), and kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of the people who carry the story.

Ki-O-Rahi is a beautiful game that symbolizes the Māori mythology of Rahi, the Māori creation myth, and the spiritual journey one makes upon death. Thus, the game is not a conflict but a cosmic dance between creation, journey, challenge, and return.